The Airmail Mystery
| runtime = 12 chapters (225 min) | country = United States | language = English}} The Airmail Mystery (1932) is a Universal Pre-Code movie serial. It is considered to be lost. Plot Airmail pilot Bob Lee (James Flavin), owner of a gold mine, faces off against "The Black Hawk" who has kidnapped Jimmy Ross (Al Wilson), Bob's best friend. The Black Hawk carries out a series of attacks on Bob's ore shipments by air. He uses an unusual catapult that launches aircraft into the sky to intercept Bob's aircraft. With Mary Ross (Lucile Browne), his sweetheart, Bob constantly battles against his enemy, and eventually is able to defeat him. Chapter titles # Pirates of the Air # Hovering Death # A Leap for Life # A Fatal Crash # The Hawk Strikes # The Bridge of Destruction # The Hawk's Treachery # The Aerial Third Degree # The Attack on the Mine # The Hawk's Lair # The Law Strikes # The Mail Must Go Through Source:Cline 1984, p. 205. Cast * James Flavin as Bob Lee * Lucile Browne as Mary Ross * Wheeler Oakman as Judson Ward ("The Black Hawk") * Frank Hagney as Moran * Sidney Bracey as Driscoll * Nelson McDowell as "Silent" Simms * Walter Brennan as Holly * Al Wilson as Jimmy Ross * Bruce Mitchell as Capt. Grant * Jack Holley as Andy Production The Airmail Mystery was Universal's first aviation serial and it set the pattern for the serials and feature films to follow.Cline 1984, p. 30. Al Wilson worked together with stuntmen like Frank Clarke and Wally Timm and also for movie companies, including Universal Pictures. After numerous appearances in stunt roles, he started his actor career in 1923, with the serial,The Eagle's Talons.Wynne 1987, pp. 5–17. He produced his own movies until 1927, when he went back to work with Universal. Wilson was also one of the pilots in Hell's Angels (1930) and during filming, he was involved in an accident where the mechanic Phil Jones died. This episode marked the end of his career as stunt pilot in movies, although he continued to work as an actor. "Stunt Pilots." Silents are Golden. Retrieved: January 16, 2011. Wilson's last role was in The Airmail Mystery. After production was complete, during the National Air Races in Cleveland in 1932, Wilson's aircraft crashed and he died a few days later in hospital due to the injuries he suffered. The accident is documented in the film Pylon Dusters: 1932 and 1938 Air Races, an historic film about the 1932 Cleveland Air Race."The Albert P. "Al" Wilson." Davis-Monthan Airfield Register Website. Retrieved: January 16, 2011. See also * List of American films of 1932 * List of film serials by year * List of film serials by studio References Notes Bibliography * Cline, William C. "3. The Six Faces of Adventure". In the Nick of Time. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X. * Cline, William C. "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X. * Harmon, Jim and Donald F. Glut. The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. London: Routledge, 1973. ISBN 978-0-7130-0097-9. * Weiss, Ken and Ed Goodgold. To be Continued ...: A Complete Guide to Motion Picture Serials. New York: Bonanza Books, 1973. ISBN 0-517-166259. * Wynne, H. Hugh. The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. ISBN 0-933126-85-9. External links * Category:1932 films Category:Universal Pictures film serials Category:1930s adventure films Category:Aviation films Category:American mystery films Category:Black-and-white films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:Films directed by Ray Taylor Category:Lost films